Great class!  Very productive in two hours Andrew drafted a robe, traced the pattern pieces, cut out the robe and sewed it together so he can fit the body!  Again in only TWO HOURS!  Andrew has such a natural ability for tailoring that no matter what I teach him or how hard I try to trip him up it all makes sense and he even corrects me which is exactly what I want him to do!!!  It is so important for a student to think critically in this highly competitive industry, to take on a challenge with enthusiasm and embrace it which Andrew does with great panache! 
....and then there is homework! 
Homework is to draft another robe using different measurements and sew it together as well.  Write the procedure down as well.  Draft coat dress front and back on hand out ready to make the armhole adjustments for sleeves and then start on sleeves next class. 

What a great job on the sundress Isabella is doing!  Today we added the lining and straps, all the corrections were done very well Isabella is becoming quite a discerning sewer analyzing her seams and really paying attention to details.  In addition we started on a knit pattern which she breezed right through in record time! 
Homework is to finish the seams by hand to stop any fraying and tack the lining to the zipper by hand, hem the dress and lining.  Create a new pattern for knits using different measurements, cut and sew two knit tops using the patterns that were just made, also write down the procedure for the knit pattern and re-write last weeks’ notes with the corrections.
Have a great week!

So Andrew finished his sample shirt!  Great job

Wow what a great, intense class it was yesterday!  These two have been working really hard and getting a lot accomplished in a short period of time!  In yesterday's class we covered a review of the sheath dress plus we did the princess and mock princess pattern.  Not only the master pattern but the pattern pieces as well complete with markings, labeling and grainlines.  Great job! 

Homework is to add the shaping to the front of the princess and mock princess pattern pieces done in class.  Re-do the whole exercise of the dresses on page 44 – 45 using different measurements and bring the patterns to class next week.  Choose one of the styles to create a mock up and fit the body, so please bring some fabric to class for cutting and your sewing machines as well.  We will be putting together the mock up in class.  Next class on Saturday February 25 at 2 pm. 

A great big Ontario welcome to Catherine who flew in from BC for some instruction with me!  We are meeting tomorrow for the first time so she can learn a bit about pattern drafting.  I am looking forward to working with Catherine teaching her some tricks and give a glimpse into the wonderful world of pattern drafting!  Below is a a link to her clothing line that she already sells!  Kudos on a job well done!
www.seaofwolves.ca

Another wonderful student!  Andrew understands the drafting part very well, he is now creating a man's shirt and will be fine tuning the pants waistband simultaneously in a second class next week.  
In class we installed the collar and stand on the shirt body, this class was strictly on how to sew it together, the steps taken and how they are executed.  Next class we will be fine tuning the draft as well as the construction, it takes a bit of time for the brain to process the information so if there are mistakes made along the way all the better that way there is something to teach! 
By fine tuning the draft and construction I mean we are going to work backwards to see where there can be improvements made, this also encourages critical thinking which is as important as learning the art itself because no matter how much one knows or how much experience one has there will always be something that will make you think outside the proverbial box. I want my students to have the ability to embrace a challenge and not be intimidated by it.

Homework is to do 2 more practice plackets for the sleeve before adding the placket to the sleeve, finish the side flat fell seams, write the whole procedure down in notebook again for more clarity and for next class.  Cut out the cuffs as explained in class along with the interfacing; the interfacing is cut without any seam allowances for the cuffs. 

See you on Tuesday!

Happy Valentines Day to Isabella who came to class on that day!
This young woman is AMAZING!  I thought I would challenge her a bit and piled on the homework because there was going to be a two week interval between classes, well the joke was on me!  Isabella completed all of her homework and then some!  The best part is it was almost perfect!  There were a few minor errors, she has some stitch picking to do but all in all it was very well done. 
In class we added facings to the armholes and neckline of a front buttoning top which was completed with great ease on Isabella's part. 
In true form there is homework; remove zipper and back seam on sundress, press the seam line back in place, baste the seam together then machine stitch it before adding zipper.  Seam allowance on zipper opening must be interfaced before adding zipper then the zipper must be basted in before stitching making sure the print lines up perfectly before sewing.  Cut facings for front and back complete with interfacing.  Draft dresses on page 77, empire cut, one with front pleats one with darts.  Trace the pattern pieces using one front and two styles.  Finish top by hand as shown in class and make notes of the steps taken to complete the top to show me for next week. 
Have a great week!

Andrew is doing so very well with understanding the work!  He has a natural ability in understanding tailoring, he gets it right away and takes copious notes as well, so proud of this young man! 
Last class he put together a man's shirt, no easy feat for a beginner but Andrew is a trooper and got the shirt together even though he had never done a flat fell seam, below is a synopsis of the class plus the homework:

1. Make pleat with wrong sides together  
2. Sew back to yoke with right sides together
3. Sew front to yoke with right sides together
4. Sew yoke facing to shirt starting with the front
5. Roll the shirt into the yoke and sew the back part
6. Trim excess seam allowance and pull shirt out from neckline
7. Add sleeves by making an ease stitching inside the seam allowance
8. Install sleeves with a flat fell seam with right sides together
9. Finish sides with WRONG sides together

Next class we will install collar and add cuffs so please bring the interfacing as well as fabric and buttons to class. 
Homework is to create a collar pattern and cuffs pattern bring them to class before cutting. 
Have a great week, next class is Friday morning 9 am :)

Sorry for the delay in writing, I ended up going to Woodbridge to help my daughter who slipped on the ice, fell and hurt her back.  With a family and a birthday party to prepare for it was the least I could do.....
In any case Fola is doing well in class and improving on the homework front.  Good job Fola keep it up! 
Your homework for this week is to draft a skirt pattern with front pleats as shown on page 25, one master draft highlighting the different pleats on the front as shown on the example, one master back for both skirts in personal measurements.  Cut skirt front on paper or fabric and bring to class.  Make 2 more examples of lapped zipper and then add zipper to skirt, bring it to class as well.  Fix the hem to make a proper rolled hem as explained in class. 
See you next class! 

At long last I was able to finally focus on Andrew's suit and pin the pattern to the fabric!  I have to feel the cut before I even contemplate putting scissors to fabric so today was the day! 
FOUR HOURS LATER.....
Finished pinning the pattern except for the sleeve pieces they have to cut after the jacket is put together.  Why you ask?  Because the squares on the fabric have to match exactly to the body of the jacket that's why!  So the procedure is to sew the jacket together, baste a set of sleeves on the jacket made out of another fabric in place, then using a chalk or marker or something actually draw the squares on the sleeves extending from the armhole into the sleeve.  Remove the basted sleeves, take them apart and place them on the fabric matching the squares.  This is the ONLY way to get them right. 
So why did it take so long to pin the pattern to the fabric?  Well it's the darn squares!  I have some pix to show the process as well, basically the first thing is to match up the horizontal lines at the selvage by pinning right at the corner of one of the squares and making sure it comes up in the same spot on the  other side.  Once that side is done then we go to the folded side and do the same, seems simple enough but it's THREE metres of fabric!  Next we go to the vertical lines and match them up exactly on both ends of the fabric, this is OK the ends are shorter than 3 metres.......
All this AFTER the fabric has been ironed on both sides.  Once the pinning is complete guess what!  It has to be ironed again!  This is to be sure the fold is exactly on one of the vertical lines.  Now we are ready to start pinning.
I started with the pants so I can find the centre to match the jacket, the intersecting point of the hip and pressing line is the spot I chose as the main anchor point for the pants and jacket.  I placed the pants front on the fabric with the anchor point right on one of the squares, the same for the pants back.  I poked a pin through this point and checked the other side to see if they were indeed lined up and to my relief they were so I proceeded with pinning the rest of the pattern piece. 
By using this method it made pining the jacket a little easier, took the guess work out of it and from what I can see they will line up vertically and horizontally very well.  I placed the jacket front with the centre front lines on top of each other and marked the closest vertical line found on the pants that will line up with the jacket on the front pattern piece.  I drew that line from top to bottom and found the intersecting point at the hip line, when I place the front jacket piece on the fabric it was easy to see how they would line up.  From the front I then marked the side piece and from the side I marked the back.  It will make more sense when you see the pictures.